STATEMENT GAME
They studied hard, and came in rested and ready to go. Yet they still failed. Good thing it wasn’t a final exam. Tuesday was as good a practice test as the Rockets could have and they came up short 113106 to Golden State. They get another shot at the Warriors on Friday, and hope to see them again in the playoffs, which would require the Rockets advancing past the second round for just the second time in the past 20 years. The Rockets aren’t getting ahead of themselves in even imagining such a scenario. Mike D’Antoni has been dreaming big since he signed on last summer. He has not hesitated to say what he thinks this squad was capable of.
So, the NBA Coach of the Year (this has not been voted on yet, but I’ll refer to him as that until he either wins the award or is robbed in said voting) relished Tuesday’s game and sees great value in Friday’s test.
“I think it’s good any time we can get a little bit better and you get better against these teams,” D’Antoni said. “Even if we lose, you find out OK this doesn’t work, or that works. You find out what you have to improve on heading into the playoffs. It keeps us sharp.”
Though they have dealt with injuries — Pat Beverley, Clint Capella, Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson all have missed some time — the Rockets are fortunate that the grind that is the NBA season hasn’t worn on them.
Houston’s preferred starting lineup is 29-9, a 76.3 percent winning percentage that would translate to 62 wins in an 82-game season.
As impressive as that is, that’s still not as good the Warriors (.811) and Spurs (.781), who have distanced themselves from the rest of the league.
Time to fine-tune
With roughly six games separating them from San Antonio (ahead) and Utah Draymond Green (left) and the Warriors sent another message to the Rockets, giving Andre Iguodala reason to celebrate again. (behind) in the Western Conference standings, the Rockets are all but locked in as the No. 3 seed. Barring a horrific collapse, they also will finish with the thirdbest record in the league.
They are in position to use the last two weeks of the regular season to fine-tune a few things and gear up for what they hope will be an extended playoff run.
Before they go into full practice mode, though, they will get to measure themselves against the best team in the league.
This bit of fortune would be rendered moot, should the Rockets falter in the first round. And surely Houston will be the underdog should seeding hold to form and they meet the Spurs in the conference semifinals.
D’Antoni might not need to spend sleepless nights trying to figure out how the Rockets can improve their shooting against the Warriors just yet, but he knows other playoff opponents will employ similar tactics in an effort to slow his explosive offense.
Houston has made just 26 of 110 3-point attempts against Golden State this season, and the defending Western Conference champion is the only team the Rockets have not made at least 10 3-pointers a game against.
That isn’t a surprise, considering the Warriors lead the NBA in field goal percentage defense and 3-point percentage defense.
Stout defenses await
Do consider, the Rockets could end up playing some of the league’s best defenses in the postseason.
Potential first-round opponents Utah and Memphis are third and fourth, respectively, in fieldgoal percentage defense.
San Antonio is second to Golden State defensively in overall shooting percentage and third in the NBA in defending 3-pointers.
In a strength-againststrength battle, the Rockets’ offense versus any one of those defenses, every bit of information D’Antoni and Co. have helps.
That is why these meaningless-to-thestandings games have so much meaning.
From the get-go Tuesday night, the Rockets learned they weren’t ready for what the Warriors bring.
They were doubled up and doubled over, and in a 37-18 hole late in the first quarter.
The lesson was the Warriors don’t usually allow a team to ease into a game. They tend to bring playoff intensity to the opening tip.
We’ll see early on Friday if the Rockets got the message.
Then we’ll see what adjustments they have made for the Warriors’ outstanding perimeter defense.
You go into every game to get a win. Just playing some games you can get better.
As D’Antoni said, this is a good chance for the Rockets to do that.
And if they are going to have a successful postseason, they need to get better.